New DFI Mini-ITX MI P55-T36

supernac said:
Just wanted to warn you guys, DFI has a new BIOS out, I attempted to flash mine using the provided "ez flash" utility. It got to about 25% and got stuck, waited for 30 min, nothing. Had to kill it in task manager, rebooted now I have a dead board. I contacted DFI, disappointed to say the least.
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Thank you for the heads up on potential BIOS updating issues.

However, BIOS Updating 101 clearly states that you shouldn't reboot your board if you suspect the BIOS update somehow botched. You either repeat the procedure to try and make it right OR force-update to the previous working version.

I hope that works out well for you, but once again it seems we need to learn from our own mistakes. AND it does seem every single motherboard should come equipped with either a secondary BIOS or auto-booting from a BIOS file on a USB flash drive. BIOS updates are more and more frequent nowadays, the chance for something going south is increasing each passing day...

Cheers.

Miguel
 
It happens :) Hopefully he can get it working without sending the board in.

I'm told this new BIOS solved some of the other previous issues. I'm also told there is nothing wrong with the USB code in the BIOS. The DFI techs keep telling me it is the exact same code from other boards and can only think it is a driver issue.
 
Steeeeve said:
It happens :) Hopefully he can get it working without sending the board in.

I'm told this new BIOS solved some of the other previous issues. I'm also told there is nothing wrong with the USB code in the BIOS. The DFI techs keep telling me it is the exact same code from other boards and can only think it is a driver issue.
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So USB wifi adapters issue is not fixed?
 
Has anyone tried the new 32nm Dual-cores in this board as of yet? I'm thinking it would work as they seem t work in the rest of the P55 boards do far.

Just looking to build a cost effective Lan box with an insanely overclocked dual-core and something from the new Fermi card's when they are released.
 
Think I'll be passing on this BIOS update unless a specific problem arises...After a month of playing with this motherboard, I couldn't be more pleased with it. Never thought I'd be calling a DFI board stable right out of the box...but this one's a winner in my book.

Thanks to elpibe10, I got my ram timings down pat...7-7-7-21 1T, running prime stable.

Amazing things do come in small packages...just waiting on a case to put it in.

P1030076.JPG


Liquid Cool
 
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phinix said:
So USB wifi adapters issue is not fixed?
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It doesn't appear to be a problem. I've had some people email me saying they are not having any problems. I haven't had any problems. Soooo I dunno what to tell ya :(
 
Liquid Cool said:
Think I'll be passing on this BIOS update unless a specific problem arises...After a month of playing with this motherboard, I couldn't be more pleased with it. Never thought I'd be calling a DFI board stable right out of the box...but this one's a winner in my book.

Thanks to elpibe10, I got my ram timings down pat...7-7-7-21 1T, running prime stable.

Amazing things do come in small packages...just waiting on a case to put it in.

P1030076.JPG


Liquid Cool
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yeah, it is a very nice board...review coming ;)

The new bios restricts i5 to 1.25v and 170bclk
 
Steeeeve,

Looking forward to the review...:)

I got a kill-a-watt meter from a Newegg shell shocker deal...gonna plug my little rig into it tonight and check what kind of wattage I'm pulling at idle...and under load. Kind of curious.

Went through the office last fall and replaced all the incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents and put everything that wasn't used often on power strips with timers. Found it interesting my printers we're sucking quite a few watts even when turned off. Overall, we reduced energy usage by about 60% and I really didn't have to make any changes that I'd consider cumbersome or uncomfortable. Frankly, I don't even notice a difference until I get the bill...;)

Best,

Liquid Cool
 
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NidStyles said:
Has anyone tried the new 32nm Dual-cores in this board as of yet? I'm thinking it would work as they seem t work in the rest of the P55 boards do far.

Just looking to build a cost effective Lan box with an insanely overclocked dual-core and something from the new Fermi card's when they are released.
Click to expand...

They're fine, mine's rock solid stable with an i5-650.
 
Liquid Cool said:
Steeeeve,

Looking forward to the review...:)

I got a kill-a-watt meter from a Newegg shell shocker deal...gonna plug my little rig into it tonight and check what kind of wattage I'm pulling at idle...and under load. Kind of curious.

Went through the office last fall and replaced all the incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents and put everything that wasn't used often on power strips with timers. Found it interesting my printers we're sucking quite a few watts even when turned off. Overall, we reduced energy usage by about 60% and I really didn't have to make any changes that I'd consider cumbersome or uncomfortable. Frankly, I don't even notice a difference until I get the bill...;)

Best,

Liquid Cool
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You will be pulling almost the same as a mATX or ATX system. Probably more on par with mATX. There really are no power savings with a smaller motherboard. You can just put less on it :)

Increasing way to decrease costs! I haven't gone to compact bulbs...I hate the time it takes to warm up. I also don't want to put timers on my electronics because the cable box takes forever to "load" if I cut the power. Oh well! Higher bills for me :)
 
supernac, any luck flashing that bios after the crash? I had exactly tha same thing happen to me. used EZ Flash, its crashed at 3%, i tried to Ctrl Alt Del but this app disables the Keyboard for some reason.

I read somewhere that you might be about to flash the BIOS via another computer via USB - this is the case on other DFI boards, maybe not this one though.

DONT USE EZ FLASH PEOPLE - ONLY UPDATE VIA BOOTABLE USB STICKS!
 
What fans are you guys running on this board? I Got Corsair Dominator so BIG Shuriken isn't fitting - i need at lease 56mm clearance at RAM slot. Any recommendations? something quite, 5-15% overclock.
 
mattRubmle said:
What fans are you guys running on this board? I Got Corsair Dominator so BIG Shuriken isn't fitting - i need at lease 56mm clearance at RAM slot. Any recommendations? something quite, 5-15% overclock.
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Change RAM. Dominators are not worth the extra bucks, especially in a tight-fitting case...
 
Hmmm, what do you recommend? I've already got this pair, cant send back now.
Do you think the BIG Shuriken with lower profile RAM?

Rough Dimensions are:
wcmxxk.jpg


So i either need DDR3 1600 that's <= 33mm tall(2 mm headroom) or a new cooler that at 25mm of width is >=56 mm in height Or 45mm with Domminator heat fins removed. That confusing right :)
 
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mattRubmle said:
Do you think the BIG Shuriken with lower profile RAM?
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No problem with my Kingston Value ddr3-1333 ;)

Antec ISK 300
PicoPsu 150W
Intel i3 530
Dfi MI P55-T36
Kingston DDR3-1333 2x2Gb
Intel X25-M G2 80Gb
ECS nVIDIA G210 Passive Cooling
Microsoft Windows 7 32bit

img0081xps.jpg
img0077h.jpg


Sorry for bad quality image
 
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mattRubmle said:
emax, Oh yeah, im surprised that fits, what the clearance between the copper and the top of the ram? What are the temps like? Im guessing your ram isn't overclocked?

Will these fit: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-181-OC
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You see, overclocking works on DDR3 without heatsinks. When it was DDR2, voltages would have to go to 2.1 2.2 to overclock. But now Intel mem controller is the limiting factor at 1.65V or so. So your RAM will be easy-peasy even when overclocked. A few months back Tom's ran a budget DDR3 test, and Kingston Value came on top, without heatsinks.
 
97114850.jpg


Same problem with GTX275 & HD5770
If i install my i7 860, no problem

:(
 
No I had to RMA it. DFI didn&#8217;t include the port to flash the bios from another machine, guess they didn&#8217;t have room. I should get the board back on the 2nd, sent it in on the 22nd.
 
mattRubmle said:
supernac, any luck flashing that bios after the crash? I had exactly tha same thing happen to me. used EZ Flash, its crashed at 3%, i tried to Ctrl Alt Del but this app disables the Keyboard for some reason.

I read somewhere that you might be about to flash the BIOS via another computer via USB - this is the case on other DFI boards, maybe not this one though.

DONT USE EZ FLASH PEOPLE - ONLY UPDATE VIA BOOTABLE USB STICKS!
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EZ Flash works fine. No need to mislead people. I've talked with numerous people who have used EZ Flash on this board. Just follow the instructions and it will work fine.
 
I saw where 180MHz seems to be about as high as the bclk will go before you run out of steam, is that the case? I'd like to get a dual core and overclock the piss out of it, but at 180 bclk, it's almost not even worth it. Has anyone been able to get higher than that stable?
 
Dam Im thinking about buying an i3 and this board with a 5770. Hmm. Haha. Emax you like that i3? Still got the i5?
 
I got a few questions for you guys. I'm gonna build a small computer for watching blue-ray/DVD video's, stream some tv shows from Hulu and some Korean movies,news, and tv shows.

Will be using a i5 cpu, onboard graphics, 4GB ram, 500GB HDD, SG-05 case. (do not plan on OCing)

I need to set it up via wi-fi and was wondering if I can use this adapter : D-Link DWA-556 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127218 Or should I wait until the ZOTAC H55ITX-A-E Wi-Fi mobo ships to the US ?
 
The DFI doesnt have onboard video does it? I cant remember, cus I think it needs to be a h55 to have onboard. And I would say wait for the Zotac, comes with onboard video and wifi.
 
mrmylanman said:
I saw where 180MHz seems to be about as high as the bclk will go before you run out of steam, is that the case? I'd like to get a dual core and overclock the piss out of it, but at 180 bclk, it's almost not even worth it. Has anyone been able to get higher than that stable?
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The new BIOS restricts i3/i5 to 170 BCLK
 
winhyun said:
I got a few questions for you guys. I'm gonna build a small computer for watching blue-ray/DVD video's, stream some tv shows from Hulu and some Korean movies,news, and tv shows.

Will be using a i5 cpu, onboard graphics, 4GB ram, 500GB HDD, SG-05 case. (do not plan on OCing)

I need to set it up via wi-fi and was wondering if I can use this adapter : D-Link DWA-556 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127218 Or should I wait until the ZOTAC H55ITX-A-E Wi-Fi mobo ships to the US ?
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in short no...cause you won't have video :)
 
mrmylanman said:
Wow that sucks. What about the 860?
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150 and no vcore adjustments.

You really got to remember this is a mini-itx board and the first of its kind (meaning the first mini itx board that is made for the enthusiast). I have a review coming out in a few hours from SFFClub.com but basically I am going to say that if you like small this is the board for you no question. If OCing is really all you care about than perhaps SFF is not right for you anyway. But if small is the most important thing or if you don't care about OCing (since it doesn't increase user noticeable performance much anyway) than this board is awesome!
 
winhyun said:
Ok thanks guys, guess I'll wait for the new H55 itx boards to come out.
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Give us an idea of what you want. This board might be perfect for you. I love this board!! Much more so than any mATX board I've ever had.

I should post a comparison between my SG06s and my Qmicra V1 (silver). The size difference is unreal!
 
Steeeeve said:
150 and no vcore adjustments.

You really got to remember this is a mini-itx board and the first of its kind (meaning the first mini itx board that is made for the enthusiast). I have a review coming out in a few hours from SFFClub.com but basically I am going to say that if you like small this is the board for you no question. If OCing is really all you care about than perhaps SFF is not right for you anyway. But if small is the most important thing or if you don't care about OCing (since it doesn't increase user noticeable performance much anyway) than this board is awesome!
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It'd just be nice if you could overclock it with the available coolers that can go into SFF systems these days like the H50 and that other one that is coming out as well. The cooling will definitely not be a real problem. I guess cramming all the chipset related cooling stuff onto a board that small could be a problem.
 
mrmylanman said:
It'd just be nice if you could overclock it with the available coolers that can go into SFF systems these days like the H50 and that other one that is coming out as well. The cooling will definitely not be a real problem. I guess cramming all the chipset related cooling stuff onto a board that small could be a problem.
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The problem is with the PWM not the processor cooling. They crammed in 6 phase on there with some of the mosfets on the bottom which can't be easily cooled (see my review shortly on this one).

These little things would get pretty darn hot at 180bclk and at 200 would just burn up...just too much power! I think next time we might see some stronger parts but that increases costs and the PWM is not bad anyway..in fact it is very nice.

It's just mini-ITX and the first board of its kind

EDIT: It should be known that you can't get 180bclk anymore anyway. I keep getting the feeling that people think this board is weak since it can't do extreme overclocking like an ATX board. Not true at all.
 
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Steeeeve said:
Give us an idea of what you want. This board might be perfect for you. I love this board!! Much more so than any mATX board I've ever had.

I should post a comparison between my SG06s and my Qmicra V1 (silver). The size difference is unreal!
Click to expand...
Can I use a USB WiFi adapter on this mobo or does this mobo still have issues with usb wifi ? I'm gonna get a D-Link DGL 4500 router for my main computer http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=router_wireless_n-_-33-127-243-_-Product and if I get this DFI mobo I will need to have WiFi for streaming movies and TV shows.
 
I think I'm just gonna stick with Micro ATX and build a rig in a SG03 or something for now. Perhaps next time ITX will have matured more into the enthusiast market.
 
winhyun said:
Can I use a USB WiFi adapter on this mobo or does this mobo still have issues with usb wifi ? I'm gonna get a D-Link DGL 4500 router for my main computer http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=router_wireless_n-_-33-127-243-_-Product and if I get this DFI mobo I will need to have WiFi for streaming movies and TV shows.
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From what I can tell the board isn't responsible for USB wifi issues...instead, Windows 7 is. Basically the lack of drivers is killing.

I've gotten a few reports from people that have Windows 7 64 bit who are using USB wifi. All of them said they are using devices that have a compatible driver.

DFI doesn't believe a problem exists as the USB code in BIOS is basically standard.
 
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